February 2007

February 27, 2007

What makes Hamilton a good place to live? Better roads? A rich arts community? More trees? Are parks, libraries and festivals a necessity or luxury?
It’s the big question council must consider as it sits down to debate the budget. The inevitable clash bubbled to the surface at today’s budget presentations. The Art Gallery of Hamilton wants one-time funding of $1.1 million from the city, plus yearly 3 per cent increases, to keep the city's contribution at $1 million a year for the next decade. Read more details here.
Several councillors, like Brian McHattie and Bob Bratina, argue that’s a fair price for an invaluable cultural institution. Others, like Flambourough councillor Margaret McCarthy, say the cost is too much for a city that is struggling to afford basic infrastructure upgrades. She says the gallery cost is elitist. McHattie says that’s an anti-arts bias. Pick your corners.

Pardon the late post, it was a long day at City Hall. Budget presentations for the city’s boards and agencies, like the library and cultural groups, took eight hours. Interestingly, new councillors dominated the meeting. A few highlights:

- Councillor Lloyd Ferguson floated the idea of combining the city’s three top musical organizations — Opera Hamilton, Boris Brott Music Festival and Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra — to save money. Anyone else singing his tune?
- Councillors chewed out finance staff for not providing them with the detailed information they need to make decisions. All boards and agencies must submit their 2006 and 2007 budgets, plus an audited financial statement to staff. The information wasn’t passed on to councillors. Councillor Brad Clark literally threw up his hands at the info shortage, questioning how councillors are supposed to do their due diligence if they don’t even have the facts.
- Most groups took council's direction of a 3 per cent or less budget increase to heart. Councillors were disappointed they didn’t pay more attention to the “or less” part. Several groups admitted they asked for a 3 per cent increase exactly because that was the city’s ceiling. “I’m bothered,” vented Councillor Scott Duvall.

February 26, 2007

The city spends more for policing every year than it does on roads and traffic and economic development combined. Public safety is always top of any politician's priority list. Mayor Fred Eisenberger promised 100 new officers during the election.
Chief Brian Mullan is asking for $4 million more for his budget this year, bringing it to $111 million. Council has set its own tax increase at 3 per cent or less. The police budget is 3.7 per cent. The extra money will be used in part to cover 24 new officers for the downtown and growing areas like Stoney Creek and Ancaster.
Crime is declining in Hamilton, yet there's always a push for more police officers. At the same time, council is trying to lower the burden on taxpayers. Do you support your taxes increasing to hire more police?

February 22, 2007

As a city we have collectively experienced some difficult times recently. This divide frustrates me and it is imperative that we work through this together respectfully to become the effective and harmonious team I am confident we can be.

I want to share with you my appreciation for your ongoing hard work and to let you know that I intend to ensure a work environment reflective of dignity, respect and trust. It is all too seldom that we provide kudos for a job well done but it is essential we take the time to do this. Our success is dependant on encouragement and respect; reliance on individual expertise and the ability to work through our differences, discussing real solutions in a professional manner.

To publicly chastise department positions and in some cases individuals is unacceptable. As the chair of council I expect everyone to express themselves in a cooperative, courteous, constructive and professional manner.

The City of Hamilton has a process and policy in place that deals with employee harassment. As the Mayor I am fully committed to, and expect adherence to city policies including the Harassment and Discrimination Prevention and Personal Harassment Prevention Policies.

I encourage employees not to lose faith in the process and it is my intention to ensure that Members of Council are held to the highest level of honour.

We share a common vision. We want a community that we are proud to call home. To achieve this, it is essential that we work collaboratively, respectfully, working within strong moral and ethical parameters. The corporation’s rules and procedures must be applied equally and evenly to both elected officials and staff.

I have been and will continue to be driving to get an Integrity Commissioner in place as soon as possible. Unfortunately these things take time and could not happen soon enough.

I look forward to working with each of you, with professional decorum and the mutual respect, befitting each and every one of us.

February 21, 2007

Like newlyweds, politicians enjoy a period of good will when they are freshly elected. Constituents are less critical and more forgiving during the so-called “honeymoon period.”

The Spec’s Andrew Dreschel makes the call today that Mayor Fred Eisenberger’s honeymoon is over after less than four months. Council’s decision not to reprimand Councillor Bernie Morelli for harassing an employee has drawn sharp criticism for Eisenberger, who promised to bring new integrity to City Hall. He’s also having a hard time advancing his green agenda. A mayor can only be successful if he earns the support of his colleagues to deliver his promises. So far, Eisenberger’s plan to enforce an anti-idling bylaw is hitting roadblocks.

Is the honeymoon over? Is the anti-idling stalling a sign that the green agenda is failing? Let me hear your early reviews of Eisenberger's performance.

February 20, 2007

Pesticide bans continue to be in the news. The Star is reporting today that Pickering is moving ahead with a ban on cosmetic pesticides. Oakville just passed their ban as I noted in an earlier post.
A new report out of Toronto suggests bans do work, but not completely. The city has seen a 35 per cent drop in pesticide use since 2003, but thousands of homes still report spraying their lawns.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger wants a ban here too, but is already facing opposition from some councillors. Do you support him?

Update: Thanks to my colleague Bill Dunphy for pointing out this story in the National Post about Toronto actually using more pesticides on its own parks. Hamilton also sprayed more pesticides last year because its parks were a mess after a more natural approach, which requires more labour, failed.

February 19, 2007

News flash: City employees are feeling down about their jobs.
The union and the mayor agree there's a morale problem, particularly in the licensing department. The department has been under siege with an operational review, employee harassment compliant and an OPP investigation. A decision by council last week not to reprimand Councillor Bernie Morelli for harassing an inspector also has some workers questioning who has their backs. Eisenberger now says he's making morale a top priority. What message has council sent to employees so far? How bad is the problem? What should Eisenberger do to fix it?

February 18, 2007

The plot continues to thicken in the city' s licensing scandal. The lawyer representing three city staffers fired over a harassment compliant argues they deserve a chance to defend themselves. The former director of building and licensing, Tom Redmond, coordinator Randy Charlton and manager Susan McGrath want their jobs back. Watch for more details in tomorrow's Spec.

Their lawyer James Fyshe says if council questions the investigator's conclusion when it comes to Councillor Bernie Morelli, they owe the same consideration to the parallel report dealing with staff. He wants an outside arbiter to conduct a hearing into the firings.

The independent investigator, Anne Grant, a Toronto lawyer with a mediation firm, was hired to investigate the compliant and make recommendations. Council approved $40,000 for her work. Should the city agree to a hearing to reconsider her findings?

February 17, 2007

The city's new council appears to be embracing the Internet as a new way of connecting with the city. Councillor Terry Whitehead has launched a new blog to connect with his constituents. The site features updates on public meetings, his stance on city issues and invites feedback from residents.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger is up to 118 friends on his myspace page launched during the election. His bio says he's a Virgo who likes squash, woodworking and yoga. His favourite movies are Braveheart, Little Big Man and Mission Impossible Three.
The mayor's new YouTube video promoting his budget survey is also drawing positive reviews in the online community.

February 16, 2007

Some city councillors are coming out today to defend not reprimanding Councillor Bernie Morelli for harassing an employee. They say if the public was in the room for the debate over an investigator's report we would have made the same decision. Unfortunately the public can only work with the information being publicly released and that's very limited. Mayor Fred Eisenberger refused to get into specifics about why council made the decision they did.

The Spec has a copy of the investigator's confidential report. Read the evidence for yourself. Be forewarned, it's long and might take awhile to download.

Nicole Macintyre

Nicole MacIntyre is the queen of kings. A married mother of two boys, including the world's former worst sleeper, she's also a reporter and parenting columnist at the Hamilton Spectator. A devotee of the 'whatever works' approach to child-rearing, Nicole has learned to never say "I'll never" when it comes to parenting.